The invention relates to a method for producing contact jacks for electric plug-in connectors, which consist of at least one stable sleeve body and a plurality of contacting means, such as contacting wires or contacting strips to enter into a linear or strip-shaped contact, and for which the contacting wires or contacting strips are aligned twisted around the axis of the jack, the stable sleeve body consisting of a sheet metal material and the contacting means in each case being connected at both ends with the sheet metal material.
1. Background Information and Prior Part
Contact jacks, prepared by this method and frequently also referred to as wire spring or laminar spring contact jacks, are distinguished, on the one hand, by exceptionally outstanding contacting properties and, on the other, by the fact that they can be manufactured economically. For this method of manufacture, it is advantageous that the jacks can be produced independently of their other equipment, such as a component of semi-finished products, which can in each case be pre-manufactured as a strip material, and may be connected with them, simply by assembling, cutting to length, rolling up and optionally welding the borders together.
2. Objects of the Invention
It is therefore an object of the invention to develop a method for the cost-effective production of jacks, equipped with a plurality of contacting means, such as contacting wires or contacting strips, which are twisted around the axis of the jack or aligned at an angle to the axis of the jack, so that the production and the electrically conducting connection of the contacting means with the strip material, forming a stable bushing, is favored further.
Pursuant to the invention, this objective is accomplished essentially owing to the fact that a) a continuous strip of a sheet metal material, as supporting material, is provided with a curvature or a comparable deformation, directed longitudinally centrally and transversely to its plane; b) at the same time, a contact strip sequence is produced from a further strip material; c) the contacting means, contacting wires or contacting strips are connected undetachably to the sheet metal material, which has been provided with a curvature or a comparable deformation directed towards the longitudinal center and transversely to its plane, as supporting material forming the stable bushing; d) longitudinal sections, corresponding to the sheath surface of a jack are cut off from a continuous strip of a sheet metal material, equipped with the contacting means and rolled up into a jack; e) in the course of the rolling up of a section of the continuous strip of a sheet metal material, equipped with the contacting means, into a jack, the curvature or comparable deformation of which, directed longitudinally centrally at right angles to the plane is bought into a stretching position in such a manner, that the finished jack has a smooth cylindrical outer surface, provisions being made in particular so that the contacting means, contacting wires or contacting strips, while leaving a spacing-assuring edge strip, are punched out in a strip material having a width exceeding the width of the strip material used to produce the stable sleeve body and with which a strip material, forming a stable sleeve body and having a deformation directed transversely to its plane, is connected.
The punched out contacting means, contacting wires or contact strips, provided pursuant to the invention and extending over the whole width of the strip material forming the stable sleeve body, make rectangular or square cross sections possible even of punched-out material forming contacting means in the shape of a wire and, at the same time, also provide better possibilities for connecting the contacting means electrically conducting with the sleeve body. The special advantage that the jacks can be produced also independently of the other equipment of a component, possibly connected with them, from semi-finished products, which can be prefabricated as a strip material, simply by assembling, cutting to length and rolling up, as well as possibly welding together the borders, is retained.
In a first and preferred embodiment of the inventive method, using a contact-assuring joint-producing method, the contacting means, contacting wires or contact strips, bridging the curvature or deformation of which are connected individually and along the two longitudinal edge regions with strip material forming the stable sleeve body, and subsequently, preceding the rolling up of the jacks, the spacing-assuring edge strips are severed. By these means, to begin with, the cutout or stamping of the individual contacting means, especially of the wire-shaped contacting means, can be facilitated and, furthermore, the construction of the electrically conducting connection of the individual contacting means, contacting wires or contacting strips with the strip material, forming the stable sleeve body, can be improved. Appropriate joining methods for a fascinating the contacting means, contacting wires or contacting strips at both ends to the two edges of the strip material, forming the stable sleeve body, are, to begin with, welding methods such as pressure welding, laser welding or friction welding. However, all other methods for forming an electrically conducting contact, such as pressure methods for forming a joint, especially extrusion methods, are also suitable.
The inventive feature of leaving a spacing-assuring edge strip outside of the intended jack height or the width of the strip material, forming the stable sleeve body, thus also makes it possible in a very simple manner to maintain constant mutual distances between the contacting means, contacting wires or contacting strips, so that the connection of contacting means, contacting wires or contacting strips, punched out in the strip material at an angle to the longitudinal axis of the jack, corresponding to their intended alignment with respect to the axis of the jack, can be also be brought about without problems with the strip material forming the stable sleeve body.
The inventive feature of leaving a spacing-assuring edge strip outside of the intended jack height or the width of the strip material, forming the stable sleeve body at the same time, however, also makes available a modified procedure with respect to the fastening of the contacting means, contacting wires or contacting strips at the strip material, forming a stable sleeve body, especially in the sense that the contacting means, contacting wires or contacting strips, punched out leaving spacing-assuring edge strips in a strip material having a width exceeding the width of the strip material used to produce the stable sleeve body, are connected with the strip material, forming the stable sleeve body, by flanging the spacing-assuring edge strips around the longitudinal edges of the strip of material forming the stable sleeve body. The method of connecting by flanging also includes here a more or less pronounced pressing, especially in order to decrease the local material thickenings, formed for some application cases by the flanged edges, to such an extent, that they no longer interfere.
Furthermore, according to this modified embodiment of the inventive method, the flangings are carried out in the region between the two spacing-assuring edge strips of the strip material having the punched-out contacting means, contacting wires or contacting strips.